Callum Lang Bristol City fitness latest as key Portsmouth man doesn’t feature against Sheffield United

John Mousinho has revealed why Callum Lang didn’t feature at Sheffield United.

The Pompey boss opted not to utilise the key returning attacker in the shocking 3-0 reverse at Bramall Lane, in an effort to keep him fresh for this weekend’s meeting with Bristol City.

Lang is building his comeback following hamstring surgery, after his return to the first-team fray against Millwall last weekend. The 27-year-old got an eye-catching 28 minutes off the bench in the 3–1 victory, with his display showcasing plenty of the high-intensity play the Wigan signing is renowned for.

Mousinho opted not to turn to Lang at Bramall Lane, however, amid an awful performance as he was once again named as one the nine subs.

The Pompey boss confirmed there was no concern over the Scouser’s fitness, but the decision was based around Lang being ready for greater involvement against Bristol City this weekend.

When asked over the reason for Lang not being introduced against Sheffield United, Mousinho said: ‘It was saving him for Saturday.

‘He gives himself a lot better chance (of starting Saturday) by not coming on the pitch tonight.

‘That was the thinking behind that. Any minutes on the pitch tonight may have been a danger for Callum on Saturday.’

As well as Lang not featuring at Sheffield United, Colby Bishop was taken off just after the hour mark for Makenzie Kirk with Josh Murphy withdrawn 21 minutes from time. Those changes followed Adrian Segecic’s half-time withdrawal for Jordan Williams with Pompey down to 10 men.

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Mousinho explained, while chasing the Sheffield United game, he was considering Pompey’s Fratton return against the Robins this weekend.

He added: ‘I’m never going to give up on a game, right.

‘Our purpose in coming out and conceding a bit of possession in the second half was, if we stay in the game until 60-65 minutes, we have enough pace on the pitch and the bench to come and affect the game.

‘We don’t though, we allow Sheffield United to score the goal and it pretty much killed the game at that point. So then it was about protecting players with the weekend in mind.’

For your next Pompey read: Every word Portsmouth chairman Michael Eisner said in 12-minute video speech to Fratton faithful